Wednesday, March 22
Long Beach, Calif.
6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

vs

Fresno State

Team High Fives
Photo by: John Fajardo

Dirtbags Look to Bounce Back in Midweek with Fresno State

3/21/2023 12:08:00 PM | Baseball

Long Beach State will host their first midweek of the season at Blair Field.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State will host their first home midweek game of the season at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field on Wednesday night welcoming the Bulldogs of Fresno State.
 
Long Beach State (10-8) vs. Fresno State (10-8)
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bohl Diamond at Blair Field
Pitching Matchup: Julian Orozco (LBSU) vs.Victor Arreola (FS)
Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE 'BAGS
•   The Dirtbags enter the week on a three-game losing streak after being swept by UC San Diego this past weekend. They are 10-8 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
•   The offense owns a .260/.352/.423 slash line with 114 runs in their 18 games. Of the team's 160 hits, 58 have gone for extra bases, including 19 home runs which ranks second-most in the Big West. Their 35 doubles also ranks third in the league.
•   The pitching staff scuffled at UCSD raising their team ERA to 4.74 along with a .249 opponent average. In 159.1 innings, they have 180 strikeouts compared to just 65 walks.
 
LAST TIME OUT
•   Long Beach State had a rough weekend, dropping all three games at UC San Diego. The Dirtbags were outscored 30-8 in the series and the Tritons scored first each game.
•   The Dirtbags were two outs away from winning the opener, but UCSD rallied for four runs and a walkoff victory. On Saturday and Sunday, the only Dirtbag runs came on solo home runs falling in a pair of lopsided scores, 14-2 and 10-1.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED STAFF...AGAIN
•   The pitching staff continues to be a strength for the Dirtbags since Coach Valenzuela took over. As they have been, the arms rank among the best in the NCAA from a statistical standpoint.
•   The team's three shutouts currently ranks as the eighth most in the country and lead the conference.
•   Limiting baserunners and striking out a lot of hitters, the Dirtbags currently rank 35th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.77), 48th in walks per nine (3.67), 50th in WHIP (1.36), and 54th in K/9 (10.2).
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
•   Fresno State enters Wednesday night with a 10-8 overall record and coming off a series win in their series with New Mexico this past weekend.
•   The Bulldogs own a .237 team batting average with a .316 on-base and .341 slugging percentage. Of their 137 hits, 38 have gone for extra bases with just eight leaving the yard. They have walked 58 times compared to 128 strikeouts at the plate.
•   The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.99 with a .254 opponent average. In 160 innings, they have totaled 174 strikeouts compared to 58 walks. Their 1.33 WHIP ranks in the NCAA's Top 50.
 
AGAINST THE OPPONENT
•   The Dirtbags and Bulldogs have met 122 times in program history with Fresno leading the all-time series 67-53-2. When playing in Long Beach, however, the 'Bags are 32-24-2 at Blair.
•    It's a 1-1 split in the Valenzuela Era with the Dirtbags winning last year's game on the road, but falling at home. In the last 10 matchups, Long Beach is 4-6.
 
Full Game Notes
 

Players Mentioned

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